Gjoa Haven (May 05/03) - Trina Sallerina is helping give young girls in the community of Gjoa Haven a place to belong and an organization they can call their own.

Two months ago she began a guiding program in the hamlet and so far 25 girls have joined the program, which Sallerina said has gained tremendous community and parent support.

News/North: "Has there ever been a guiding program in the hamlet before?"

Trina Sallerina: "I've been here for nine years and this is the first time. There was one about 20 years ago."

N/N: "What motivated you to start the program?"

TS: "My little girl just turned five and there is nothing to do in the community. So, my husband and I started talking about what we used to do when we were kids and he said Cubs and I said Brownies."

N/N: "Were you surprised to have 25 girls right off the get go?"

TS: "I kind of expected it. My husband and I teach Grades 1 and 2 and Grades 2 and 3, which why I chose this age group."

N/N: "Were the girls excited when you told them you were planning to start up the program?"

TS: "They'd never heard of Brownies before but because I am the leader and their teacher they decided to join."

N/N: "What kinds of activities have you done so far?"

TS: "We had a sleepover. They were all really excited and now I am the coolest teacher ever, they said."

N/N: "How often do the girls get together?"

TS: "Every week the Brownies meet on Mondays from 3 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. The Sparks, which are five and six-year-olds, meet on Thursday afternoon from 3:30 to 5."

N/N: "Why do you think guiding is a good thing for these girls to be involved in?"

TS: "It's about my kids learning about themselves and how to be respectful to people. It promotes self-worth. It promotes a healthy lifestyle."

N/N: "What do you teach the kids during meetings?"

TS: "The first thing we did was what do you do if you get lost. What do you do in our community specifically. It has to do with relativity to our girls. We don't cross streets here but we do have to watch out for machinery and we have creeks. We learn the Brownie law in both English and Inuktitut. We are also going to the elders centre to help clean up. We start every meeting with a friendship circle. That is where we start off and we tell each other what we did to be nice to somebody that week. At the end of the meeting we sit down and every girl crosses arms with another girl and says I am your friend.'"

N/N: "How valuable do you see that kind of exercise as being?"

TS: "As a teacher I see a lot of bullying, so for me it's very important the girls be friends. I have zero tolerance for bad behaviour of any kind."

N/N: "Besides providing a medium for friendship and positive values what other spin-offs are there?"

TS: "It's promoting in-school attendance. We have a problem with attendance. The girls take it very seriously and some parents say 'good Brownies go to school and listen to their teachers' to get them to go to school."

N/N: "Does guiding have any cultural relevance to the Inuit children in the community?"

TS: "I teach culture. My husband is from here so I am very sensitive to the fact that the Inuit culture is very important. One of the things we're working on right now is Inuit puppets as our craft. But, at the same time, they are little girls just like little girls anywhere else. I don't always think culture has to be the most important. They are little girls and they need to have fun."

N/N: "Do you see the guiding program as a way to combat some of the more predominate social problems in the community?"

TS: "I hope so. I hope these girls don't grow up and sniff gas. I hope these girls don't start smoking at 12 just to be cool. They are a little bit more proud now because they feel special. They are learning to be little girls and how to be proud of something as a community."

N/N: "What are some of your long-term goals for guiding in Gjoa Haven?"

TS: "I would like to take my troupe to Cambridge next year for a Brownie sleepover. In the South there are guiding groups in every community and they have group visits and exchange friends. It would be a chance for my girls to see themselves as a bigger organisation. It's also a cultural thing to be able to visit other communities and travel. Unfortunately I don't know if that will happen."

N/N: "Why not?"

TS: "There is no funding. There is an organization called Brighter Futures and we were supposed to be able to access funding through that, but I was told it was not available for Sparks and Brownies. They said it's for suicide prevention now."

N/N: "Couldn't this be demonstrated as a form of suicide prevention?"

TS: "I said this is teaching healthy lifestyles and self-worth. I was told I had to have a trained individual teaching them how not to kill themselves at every meeting. In guiding suicide prevention is specifically mentioned, but now I can't access funding."

N/N: "Are you looking at other options?"

TS: "Selling bingo and Nevada. I don't believe in gambling but people are going to spend their money on it anyways and this is for a good cause. It's unfortunate. We need these programs but there is no support for them."

N/N: "How will the program be able to continue without outside funding support?"

TS: "I will keep the program going, but I don't know who is going to take on the financial burden and take on Girl Guides (the next level up). You're supposed to have dues, but that's impossible for me to be able to ask for money because not every kid can bring a loonie to every meeting. They have that big cookie sale every year. But, down South they have thousand and thousands of people to sell to. We have 900."

N/N: "You are willing to carry some of the financial burden personally, so what happens when you can no longer be a part of the program?"

TS: "I can see it collapsing. You have to have very challenging energetic people to run your program and there are sacrifices you make. For me it's financial. I don't want to see it quit just because of the money, but I can see it happening."